His Past, Her Future: Their Life
by At the Heart of the Storm
Summary: You had joined the Marine Corps after your original career path disintegrated and were the only woman in the unit and now, after so many years, you’re joining NCIS… And that’s all I’m going to tell you! This is a GIBBS/YOU! You have been warned!
1. Introduction

**Author's Note:** Hay Everyone! I should have up to chapter 6-7 up by saturday but this should hold you off until then.

Enjoy!

XXXX

* * *

**Introduction.**

The car zoomed down the busy road, weaving in and out of traffic enraging the other drivers. The woman driving didn't seem to give a damn as her music filled the car drowning out the sound of their angry beeping.

The building appeared up ahead of her. She put on her indicator before doing a sharp 90-degree turn, further enraging drivers around her, sped towards the security guards booth, slammed on the brakes and explained to the security guard why she was there then sped into the car park and slammed onto the brakes again efficiently parking the car. The woman turned the car off causing the music to come to an abrupt halt mid-song, put her gun into her holster, grabbed her briefcase and climbed out of her car. Her build was small but just by looking at her one could tell she was anything but vulnerable. Her high heels struck the ground as she climbed to her feet in one fluid motion. She sneered at them hating the fact that she had to wear such things.

The sneer did not suit her; a woman with a beautiful and gentle face, but it did match her eyes. Her eyes were hard and deep, a blue and dark as the depths of the sea; there was pain and suffering in the shadows but their calm shone through all other emotions and that's what frightened people most.

She slammed the car door, locked it and put the keys in her pocket and spun around, long dark hair flying wildly. Again she sneered moving her hair from her face wanting desperately to tie it up out of her way. The only reason she wore a suit, high-heels and had on natural makeup was for her job interview for NCIS – The Naval Criminal Investigation Service.

She smoothed down her suit, trouser instead of skirt, and strode over to the elevator and climbed in, pressing the number that would take her to the floor she needed. Her foot tapped in annoyance and impatience, she hated elevator music. The other occupants in the elevator glanced at her wearily giving her plenty of room.

A ding sound rang out and the woman stepped out of the elevator at last and schooled her face to mask her feelings. After being in the Marines for so long she knew that showing any sign of weakness to the enemy could mean death.


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter One.**

I stepped out of the elevator and stood there as the doors closed behind me analysing my surroundings. Hearing footsteps and a quick intake of breath I looked up towards the stairs and my jaw dropped. Blue eyes stared into mine as emotions flew passed so quickly it was hard to put names to them. I had seen those eyes so many times during my life it would be impossible to confuse them with someone else's. His name tumbled from my mouth before I realised what I was doing.

"Leroy…" His name flowed from my mouth in a whisper. His eyes widened in realisation. He made his way slowly down the stairs towards me while the woman he was talking to and the rest of his team stared at the scene unfolding in front of them in amazement.

He came to a stop inches from me and our eyes trailed up and down the others body. Eyes shining Gibbs folded his arms and smirked down at me. I raise an eyebrow and mimic him.

"Well look what the cat dragged in." Gibbs jokes and his smirk widens. My expression doesn't change as I saunter up to him. Time for the retort.

"Darling you're the one who's be dragged… and by the looks of it, through a bush." I reached up and removed the leaf from his hair chuckling. He joined in and we both wrapped our arms around each other in a 'man hug'.

Everyone looked on totally and utterly amazed. Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs simply does not act that way with **anyone**. Not even when he was married to any of his ex-wives. After letting go of each other we stood a foot apart and studied the other. Gibbs eyebrows frowned together.

"What are you wearing?" He asked in confusion having hardly ever seen me in such an outfit. I sighed and ran my hand through my hair.

"Well the last time I wore my combats and boots to an interview they took one look at me and said no," I grumbled, "so this it what happened for my second interview." I gestured at my clothes in disgust. Suits were not my thing. "If I had known _you_ were interviewing me I would've worn my normal clothes." I glared at the wall in annoyance. Gibbs chuckled again and kissed me on the head before leading me to his desk. He sat down behind his desk, I in front of it, both of us very aware that everyone's eyes were on us waiting to see what would happen next.

The atmosphere changed as soon as we were both seated. It was time to get down to business. Gibbs linked his fingers together and lent his elbows on the desk as I crossed my legs like a lady.

"I take it you have all the information I'll need?" Gibbs stated more than asked. I nodded sharply and opened my briefcase pulling out the files and placing them in front of him. I closed the briefcase with a snap and sat up straight waiting for his answer. At NCIS there was no need for the possible employers to ask questions if you had all the information they'd need. That was something I made sure I had, everything they would want and need was typed up by myself, printed off and put into files for the readers easy access.

We sat in silence for half an hour as Gibbs read through all the information I had put down before he closed the files and looked up. I kept my eyes on him, unblinking. He sat back in his chair and studied me as though I was a stranger and I knew that that was something he had to do, to understand how others would see me. After another five minutes of his eyes sweeping over me he smiled.

"You know, you look very good in a suit." He mumbled quietly to me. I lent back in the chair and raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah well, don't get used to it." I warn him half joking, half serious. He smirks at me and holds out his hand.

"Welcome aboard Special Agent __________." I smiled at him and shook his hand. I suddenly remembered something and my smile faltered.

"Umm, I have an itty bitty problem." I mumbled as I held my thumb and forefinger a centimetre apart. Gibbs raised an eyebrow knowing I don't admit when I have a problem, so the fact that I said anything is worrying enough. I sighed knowing he realised that it's not an 'itty-bitty' problem. "Oh alright!" I grumbled. I got up and dragged my chair around to his side before I sat back down and started taking off my suit jacket and undoing my shirt. Gibbs sat there watching what I was doing knowing I had a reason. I placed my tops on the back of my chair and pulled up my white tank top to just under my breasts showing off my six-pack. On the back of my right side were stitches that were mirrored on the front of my left side. Gibbs' eyebrows frowned together and an angry glint appeared in his eyes. He brought his finger to the scar and drew his finger along the stitches and I followed him with my eyes. He walked around to the other side of me and traced the other wound with his finger.

"What happened?" He asked in a clipped tone. I sighed and pulled my top down. I looked up at Gibbs in annoyance; he had always been protective over me – which pissed me off to no end. In a Unit everyone needs to be equal, irrespective of sex, or that person becomes the weak link within the chain, which could mean the death of them all.

"Oh calm down Leroy," I state. Somehow I managed to keep the agitation out of my voice, "It happened out in the field." Gibbs said nothing about my calling him by his first name and sat back down to listen to me explain what went down. "We were out in Iraq with only four more targets to take out. My battalion had just gone in for the attack and I got shot below my ribcage. Before long all the enemies were dead. Or so we thought. Someone jumped out from behind me and stabbed me in the back below my ribcage." I mumbled leaning back into my chair and closing my eyes. "I remember spinning around and shooting the man who stabbed me but after that I can't remember a thing." I opened my eyes and glanced over at Gibbs to see him watching me. I smirked at him and resumed my tale where I had left off. By now everyone in the bullpen was listening attentively including the Director who stood behind us on the stairs. "The guys filled me in on everything that happened afterwards. They told me that if the plane hadn't been on the way already, I'd have died." I said casually. "They said that as soon I was carried onto the plane and the paramedic asked who I was etcetera, _apparently_, I constantly repeated the facts until I passed out. I woke up a week later in hospital. JJ blamed himself for what happened, all the guys did. Though a hard slap to the back of the head and a threat that I'd turn them into women if they didn't stop blaming themselves, shut them up." I laughed at the memory of the look on their faces. Gibbs sighed and I opened my eyes to look at him. His face was grim and set. I glared at him openly. "Oh Leroy don't you start!" I stated. " You weren't there and just like all the other guys even if you were you wouldn't have been able to do anything." I could see in Gibbs' eyes that he wanted to hug me to make sure I was really alright.

Tony, Ziva, McGee, Abby and the Director stared at us. They were totally amazed. No one talks or even looks at Gibbs like that without getting hit, insulted or shot. They realised then and there that I must mean a lot to him. He spoke, snapping everyone out of their thoughts.

"So what do you want me to do about it?" He asked in a tone that said he didn't care. I glanced at his eyes and body language and understood it was all a mask, but a mask he was letting me see through.

"Well, the doctor at the Hospital told me that I could not do any field work for at least a month," I stated in a business voice, "When the month is up I have to go for a check up to make sure that the wounds are fully healed and then I'll be allowed to do field work again!" I smiled happily. "So, I was wondering if I could work in the lab with Abby, but only if it's all right with her." Gibbs smirked at me before speaking.

"Looks like you've done your homework." Gibbs glanced around the bullpen. "Ok then, let's see how good you did shall we?" He rhetorically asked. I nodded my head having expected him to ask that question the way he had done so many times before during training. We would have to hack into a computer and get information on a certain person or group of people. (Even though, technically, it's illegal – but there's a saying in the Military; "Don't ask, don't tell". They knew what we were doing of course; it was just never recorded officially.) We would then have to report back to our commanding officer, Gibbs, and either tell him what we had found out or give him printed sheets of all the information we could find. So I started giving off random pieces of information.

"Well Abby used to work at Starbucks and you dragged her from there one day and gave her a job here, and if I'm right she started shouting something about 'kidnap' on the way to your car." Abby's eyes widened in shock but Gibbs just nodded his head and waited for me to continue. "All right, Ziva can speak six different languages fluently; English, Hebrew, Spanish, Arabic, Turkish and French. She also goes for a run every morning at 0530 hours. Tony speaks fluent Spanish and loves designer clothing, cars and women. McGee is a computer genius, only matched by Abby, and plays an Elf Lord online game in his spare time." I blinked and looked around bored. "Do I need to say anymore? I could share a couple of things about you if you want?" I glanced at Gibbs and saw him glaring at me. "I'll take that as a **'You-do-and-I'll-put-you-in-a-room-with-the-man-you-loath-most-in-the-world'** then, shall I?" I asked with a smirk. Gibbs frowned at me before speaking at last.

"You know I'm not that heartless." He retorted hiding all his true emotions. I smiled at him and waited.

Gibbs turned to Abby and started talking to her. The elevator doors opened and a familiar face stepped out and made his way to the bullpen.

"Ducky!" I shouted as I jumped to my feet and ran over to him hugging him tightly. I could hear mumbled words against my shoulder and moved back so that Ducky could see me.

"__________!" Ducky pulled me down into a hug and I heard Tony whistle faintly followed by a slapping sound. I chuckled as Ducky pulled away. "It is so good to see you! How have you been?" He asked before I could say anything.

"Duck can you give me a second please?" I asked politely.

"Of course! Of course!" I spun a round, hair flying again and strode over to Tony. I stood in front of him smiling and Tony being Tony started coming onto me. I let him continue for a little while before I brought my hand up and smacked him soundly on the back of his head. I grabbed the front of his shirt and yanked his head down level with mine.

"You stare at my ass or even think of coming onto me again and I shall cut off a limb from you body that is more important to you than an arm or a leg and feed it to the fish. Understand?" I asked in a no nonsense voice that warned an infinite amount of pain if he disobeyed me. Tony gulped and nodded vigorously. I pushed him away from me with enough force to make him stumble, but not fall, and walked back over to Ducky. "Look!" I said cheerfully and pulled my top up high enough to show the healing wounds. Ducky gasped and began to examine them. "I knew you'd like it!" I laughed. Ducky frowned at me but I just continued to laugh. "________? Ducky?" Gibbs called for our attention. I turned around with Ducky at my side. Gibbs gestures to the chair next to his and ordered me to sit down.

For the next two hours Gibbs and I went through contracts and sorted out what's necessary for me to work with Abby in the lab for one and a half months. As soon as everything is all signed and sorted Gibbs and I leant back in our chairs and propped our feet up on the desk, my feet shoeless. Gibbs had refused to remove his shoes.

"You'd probably kill everyone anyway. The way _your_ feet smell." I had joked. Gibbs chuckled and gave me a shove, which I retaliated with poking my tongue out. Everyone still found it hard to come to terms with the fact that there was someone alive who could talk to Gibbs whatever way they liked and get away with it.

As we sat there talking Gibbs brought up a very good question.

"Where are you staying?" He asked casually before taking a sip of his coffee. I followed suit doing the same and took comfort in the feeling of the hot liquid running down my throat.

"I'm staying at the marine base for now. You know, until I find myself a place." I mumbled. We had already agreed that I could hang out at NCIS for the rest of the day. Gibbs looked at me over his disposable cup.

"You're perfectly welcome to stay with me until you find a place." He mumbled quietly. I sat there thinking for a little while before I smiled at him.

"Actually Leroy, I think I might take you up on that offer," I smile happily, "The marines back at base don't really like me much. You know, 'cause I don't train there considering I've already completed my course. I guess I'm an intruder to them." I shrugged my shoulders. I wiggled around in my chair to get more comfortable.

As I settled down, eyes closed, I felt a hand on my knee hidden from everyone's line of vision. I was shocked but forced myself not to jump or snap my eyes open. Instead I opened my eyes slowly in a lazy sort of way and glanced at Gibbs to see him smiling. Confused I raised an eyebrow.

"Just making sure you're ok." He mumbles quietly so no one but I can hear him. When I had figured out what he was talking about I smiled in reassurance.

"I _am_ fine." I whispered to him. He searched my face for any signs I was lying. Having found none he squeezed my knee and let out an inaudible sigh of relief.

Now to most people Gibbs' behaviour was so totally out of character it was mind boggling, but the thing that people don't realise is that this is how he acted before he met Shannon and had Kelly. And yes I know about them. Gibbs and I didn't lose contact until after Kelly and Shannon were murdered. Gibbs had always been kind of distant but he has also always been very loving. He'd looked after me so often, held me when I cried. He was there for me on the worst day of my life. He gave me the strength and courage I needed to live again.

Subconsciously I ran my fingers over my left wrist remembering the bruises that were there for weeks. Gibbs saw my actions and took my hand in his and gave it a squeeze. I turned my head and blinked at him.

"We'll pick up your stuff as soon as my shift ends and get you settled in at my place ok?" He asked gently. I smiled at him and nodded taking a deep breath and let it whoosh out of my nose. Gibbs rubbed his thumb against the back of my hand calming me down.

The hours ticked by as we sat there telling each other about things that had happened in our lives after we lost touch. Mine were very boring compared to Gibbs'.

"You've had three wives already!?" I had asked gob smacked. Gibbs had just chuckled and shook his head at my reaction. "Crazy son of a bitch." I'd replied. He laughed again and we were soon back on the subject of our times together.

That afternoon we hardly stopped laughing when talking about some of the things we'd gotten up to. At one point we were laughing so hard tears came to our eyes. We had looked up only to see the Director stood in front of us. We immediately sobered up clearing our throats and pretending to be busy with the papers on the desk. She left soon afterwards and we grinned at each other. I happened to glance at the clock and turned to Gibbs, a huge smile plastered on my lips.

"Time to go!" I said gleefully. We put everything away neatly and Gibbs told everyone to go home. No one argued and the bullpen was cleared within seconds.

Gibbs and I walked over to the elevator and got in arriving at the parking lot minutes later. I walked over to my car and threw my briefcase in the back followed by mine and Gibbs' jackets. I walked around to the driver's side and jumped in, Gibbs doing the same. We pulled on our seatbelts and tore out of the parking lot speeding to the marine's base.

I pulled up outside and we made our way through security. I led the way up to my room to collect my things. The corridors were all the same, plain cream walls, dark brown wood floors and doors with gold number plates on them. Everything was neat and organised.

I slotted my key into the lock, pushed the door open and walked in.

"Have a seat Leroy." I motioned to the desk for Gibbs to sit. Oh! And that's another thing, I almost always call him Leroy. Not Jethro, not Gibbs. Leroy. I liked it more. I did use the others occasionally though.

He took the offered chair and sat down and watched me putter around the room putting things into bags. Having only gotten here days before and also having not unpacked, I was finished within minutes and so we made our way back to the security desk where I explained to the guard that I was leaving. He had been very kind and soon Gibbs and I were speeding down the highway towards his home.


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two.**

The next morning I woke to the sunlight in my eyes. I threw my arms above my head and stretched like a cat, arching my back towards the ceiling. I snuggled back into the couch and sighed contently. After being in the field for weeks on end having nothing but hard floor to sleep on a couch is heaven on earth!

The sun was warm against my face and judging by the height of the sun it was 0500 hours. 'Time to get up.' I thought throwing the blanket off of me. Since I joined the Navy I have hated wearing loads of layers to bed. Now I only wear a long shirt, which reaches mid thigh. I swung my legs over the side of the couch and wandered into the kitchen yawning and running my hand through my hair while looking at the floor. The scent of coffee tickled my nose and I looked up. There sat at the island in the middle of the kitchen was Gibbs, jaw dropped and coffee mug starting to tilt towards him threatening to tip its scalding contents all over him. I grinned at him sleepily and took his mug swallowing a mouthful. I gave my head a good shake and gave Gibbs back his mug finally fully awake. I glanced over at Gibbs and noticed his mouth still hanging open. I leant over the island and closed his mouth with my index finger. He glared at me but soon started laughing. My eyebrows flew up in confusion and amusement.

I walked around the island and over to the coffee machine and filled up a mug and made my way back over to the island. I placed my mug next to Gibbs' and jumped up and sat on the countertop at Gibbs' elbow. Gibbs glanced up at me from the corner of his eye and sighed then turned around in his seat, back facing me. I slid across the countertop and placed my hands on his shoulders. I worked my thumbs in a circular motion. We had done this many times before. I would sit or stand behind him and massage his shoulders and he'd wait until late at night and do the same for me.

Slowly the tension left his body and he relaxed against me, my legs on either side of him. His hands slid up the back of my legs and pulled my ankles onto his lap, where he started to massage my feet. He knew very well that that was one of my weak spots. I sighed and slumped against him in relaxation. I continued to massage his shoulders but before long I was pressed against his back arms sliding to hang in front of his chest. Neither of us were uncomfortable with the intimacy of our positions, we had been friends for years and trusted each other totally. We knew more about each other than anybody else alive.

We sat there totally relaxed for ten minutes before either of us spoke and I, being the party popper, was the one who broke the silence.

"You now we have to go to work today right?" I whispered not really wanting to move but knowing that we had to. Gibbs groaned.

"We could not." He mumbled hopefully. I chuckled quietly and thrust my hips foreword suddenly almost pushing Gibbs off the stool. "I'm getting up." He grumbled irritably. I just smiled at him as he slouched off to his room to dress. I jumped down off the counter and took my mug with me into the living room to change. The good thing about knowing someone like Leroy for so well for so long is the fact that you become insusceptible to their moods.

Having not the slightest bit of modesty, having ate, slept, bathed and breathed around men for years, I pulled off my sleeping shirt with the curtains wide open and started to get dressed. I pulled on my underwear followed by my dark brown khaki trousers, then a black tank top. I dropped down onto the couch, tugged on socks and my combat boots, slipped a sheathed dagger into each boot on the outside of my legs and pulled the leg of my trousers down to hide them.

I bent over and reached under the couch and pulled out my shoulder holster, guns and clips already in them, and strapped it on. I also slipped another gun into a holster attached to the back of my trousers, safety switch facing away from my body. I nearly shot my ass off once! The safety turned off when I sat down and if the gun hadn't been facing away from me slightly I'd have had a hole in my ass! I chuckled at the memory. That was one of the more crazier things that have happened to me.

For the next ten minutes I walked around the living room putting things into a bag: wallet, foldable brush, bobbles, hair clips… I might not be a girly girl but you'd be amazed at what you can do with bobbles and hair clips. I also put in more ammo, an old-fashioned lock picking kit, knives and a few books in case I got bored. All in all I packed light. I picked up my car keys and put them in my left back pocket and slipped my phone into my right back pocket. Easy access.

After making sure the bag was closed I picked up my briefcase and placed it on the coffee table. I knelt down and opened the briefcase. I pulled out my files and dropped them next to the briefcase so that I could check that everything was in there. I hooked my forefinger into a hole in the floor of the brief case and pulled it up showing the contents of the compartment. I opened one of the little plastic box container lids and checked all the memory cards in their own cases were there, before I checked all the others and also made sure that my other equipment was safe and secure.

Satisfied with my preparation, I made sure all the lids were closed on the boxes and that everything was secured before I put the compartment lid down, picked up my files, placed them back in, quickly checked the padded folder on the inside roof of my briefcase to make sure my small black laptop was there, closed the briefcase and locked it. I climbed to my feet and downed the last of my coffee, which by now was stone cold, and took my things into the kitchen.

I placed my bag and briefcase on the counter and cleaned up the used mugs before shouting to Gibbs to hurry up. I honestly think he takes longer than me to get ready some days. He walked into the kitchen grumbling about something but I just grabbed my stuff and led him out of the kitchen to the hallway where we put our coats on; mine a long black coat, Gibbs a normal work jacket. I picked up my bag and briefcase and swung open the door as Gibbs grabbed his keys and we strode down the path, put our things in the boot of my car, jumped in and buckled up. Within seconds we were out of the driveway and on our way to work…

As soon as we'd got our coffee from Starbucks.

The tyres screeched against the concrete and the car came to a stop an inch from the wall. As soon as the car was put in park our seatbelts came off and I made my way to the boot to get my bag and briefcase. Gibbs lent against the car to wait for me and we walked side by side into the elevator.

The sight of us both made the occupants of the elevator uncomfortable. I stood there in dark colours, bag on back, briefcase in my left hand, coffee in my right and a glance of the guns under my coat had people edging away. Gibbs stood in the same stance as I did; legs slightly apart, stance tense as though ready to attack.

The elevators doors dinged open and everyone cleared a path for us to walk through. Gibbs and I strode into the bullpen and everyone went silent to stare at us. Not having a desk yet, as there is not enough room, I followed Gibbs to his desk and sat on the edge of the desk as Gibbs sat down behind it. In unison Gibbs and I took a sip of coffee. Gibbs looked around the bullpen and raised an eyebrow.

"Why aren't you working?" He asked them warningly. Tony, Ziva and McGee dropped their heads and got on with their work obediently.

After ten minutes of sitting on the edge of Gibbs' desk I left out an annoyed sigh before getting to my feet. Gibbs looked at me worriedly. I turned around and smiled at him.

"Well I'm off to see Abby," I stated, "Might as well get acquainted with the lab." I grumbled in annoyance. Gibbs smirked at my obvious agitation and I rolled my eyes. "Thanks for the sympathy." I muttered sarcastically. His smirk never wavered.

"Any time." He replied. I pursed my lips at him before I smiled and made my way back to the elevator. "Dun Dun Dun Dun Dun Dun Dun Dun Dun Dun Dun!" Gibbs hummed the execution march to the immense amusement of everyone present.

I entered the elevator and turned around to face him. I glared at him. Not being able to give him the middle finger I verbalised it instead.

"Oh fuck off!" I snapped irritably. Again his expression never wavered and the lift doors closed. I hated not being able to be out in the field and he knew it. Pissed off with that fact, I stabbed the number for the floor Abby's lab was on and stood there foot tapping against the ground. Thoughts flew through my head. The lift doors opened and the welcome sound of rock music hit my ears.

I walked towards the lab and waited for the automatic doors to open before I strode in. I walked over to the corner of the room and placed my briefcase on the table and my bag on the floor under the table. I opened up my briefcase and pulled out my laptop, followed by my files. I opened the laptop and turned it on making sure all my anti hacker programmes were running before I turned back to my briefcase. I opened the compartment, pulled out the hub (a piece of equipment that let me use more than one memory card at a time) and connected it to my laptop. I then pulled out one of the plastic box containers that held the memory cards and removed six of the smaller boxes with the memory cards in. I took the memory cards out of their boxes one by one and slotted them into the hub then opened the memory cards and pulled the files up onto the screen. I felt Abby walk over to me to stand beyond my shoulder to watch what I was doing.

My fingers flew across the keys as I stared at the screen and after a couple of bleeps my waiting paid off. I pumped my fist into the air. I quickly pulled out a blank memory card and inserted it into one of the empty slots and saved everything onto it. Once done I removed the hub, labelled the just used memory card and unplugged everything and put them away. I shut the laptop down and put it and the files back in my briefcase before locking it. I turned around and smiled at Abby.

"Ok! What do you want me to do?" I asked happily. Abby smiled at me and led me around the lab explaining about what piece of equipment did what.

Hours later Abby and I sat at her desk staring at the ceiling. There were no cases to work on and we were bored stiff. Just as I was about to jump up and rush off to bug Gibbs the lab doors slid open and in he walked holding a box. Tony, McGee and Ziva followed behind him with boxes of their own. Abby and I looked at each other.

"Abs, ________, I need this processed A.S.A.P." Gibbs stated and placed down his box on the evidence table, Tony, McGee and Ziva doing the same. I stared at the boxes blankly. Abby walked over to her hanger, threw on one of her white lab coats and threw me a second one. I grabbed the coat from midair and got up placing the balled up lab coat onto the seat where I had been sitting moments ago. I sighed sadly and removed my leather jacket, which I then threw to Abby who hung it up. I stared at the lab coat forlornly and yanked it on. It was going to be a long night.

I stood up and stretched letting the computer search for the results. I looked up at the clock on the lab wall and my eyes nearly popped out of my head. It was 0000 hundred hours! Abby and I had been processing evidence since 0900 hundred hours this morning! I pulled off my gloves and dropped them onto the table in front of me before I rubbed my face vigorously to clear my muddled head. I looked up at Abby and noticed her head starting to drop towards the desk.

"Hay Abb?" I asked and watched in amusement as her head snapped up to blink at me sleepily.

"Huh?" She mumbled, "What's up? Did you get a match?" I shook my head, negative.

"I _wish_. No, I wanted to know if you want a Caf-Pow?" I questioned. Her eyes lit up and she nodded. I nodded back, got up from my chair and removed my lab coat. I checked my guns were secure and safety clips were off then slipped into my leather jacket and made my way out of the lab.

I walked up the stairs instead of taking the lift and left my mind go blank. I stepped out into the fresh air and sighed contently as the wind blew past me. The night was cold and dark but not totally unpleasant and I made my way to the Starbucks at the end of the block.

The coffee shop was open and for that I was totally grateful. I walked into the shop and went straight to the counter. A young man, about the same age as myself, lent against it with a bored expression. As soon as he saw me he jumped up, smiling.

"Hi! How can I help you?" He asked. I chuckled and smiled at him. His brown eyes shone in the dimmed lightening and I could just make out a reddish tint to his hair. He had high cheekbones and a gentle face. Overall he was very handsome and could no doubt make many girls drool.

"Slow night?" I asked still smiling. He sighed dramatically and nodded. I chuckled again and placed my order. "Can I have one Caf-Pow and a large strong coffee please?" The young man nodded and went about making the caffeine drinks and I reached into my back pocket and pulled out some notes to pay. He placed the drinks down in front of me on the counter and I handed him the money.

"So, if you don't mind me asking," He started as he typed the numbers into the cash register, "where you working? It can't be that far. I didn't hear any cars outside before you came in." He questioned conversationally. I smiled again.

"I work at NCIS." I stated simply and pulled out my badge to show him. He nodded in acknowledgement and passed me my change.

"Aren't you working a bit late?" He questioned confused. I smiled and nodded. I was so tired.

"Yeah, but my boss just dumped a huge amount of evidence at the lab so I'm helping get through it all so we can go home and sleep." I replied. "That's what I need these for," I hold up the cups slightly, "So we don't drop," I gave him a half smile, "See ya round." I nodded and walked out of the shop and made my way back to the lab.

I walked into the lobby of NCIS and smiled at the security guard and made my way to the stairwell to go down to the lab. I jogged down the stairs, walked down the corridor, into the lab and tapped Abby on the head. Her head flew up and I held the Caf-Pow in front of her face. Abby gasped happily and immediately started to drink as much as she could. I smiled and placed my coffee on the desk then made my way over to the coat rack and to swap coats.

As I made my way back to the desk the computer bleeped and I ran over excitedly. I glanced at the computer screen and printed off the information that I'd just found. Even as the printer began to whirl I was already working on the next sample. 'Only twelve more to go.' I thought miserably. I had a feeling I'd be going to Starbucks quite a lot in the next 24 hours if Abby and I were going to live through the night.


	4. Chapter 3

**Author Note: **Hay everyone! Here's another update! P.S. You're getting this chapter and the next chapter in one update. Be greatful! Lol!

Hope you enjoy!!

~Leanne~

* * *

**Chapter Three.**

It had taken us most of yesterday and all night to finish running the tests and Abby and I were exhausted. We had gone through: twenty coffees and Caf-Pows, six bags of marshmallows, four chocolate muffins and a tub of ice cream. Each. We had stuffed ourselves with so much sugar and caffeine through that time and we were _still_ deadbeat.

At the moment Abby and I were lent against each other sitting on our chairs while we stared at the computer screen. Having more energy than Abby, but not by much, I had hacked into a film site and decided to watch CSI to try and keep us awake, even though we only had ten minutes until shift started. We knew, that if given only a few seconds to close our eyes, we would be out for the count and then Gibbs would get annoyed that we weren't awake to give him an explanation. So we sat there and stared at the screen instead.

The lab doors slid open and Abby and I sat up and looked over only to see Gibbs standing there, two coffees and a Caf-Pow held in his hands. My eyes widened and I jumped up and ran over to him gladly taking the coffee he held out and taking gulps of the life saving liquid. Gibbs walked around me and handed Abby her Caf-Pow, which she too chugged down. Gibbs watched in amusement at our actions having not realised that we had been here all night. He thought we had only just arrived. He must have thought I got back late and left early and _that_ was why he hadn't seen me at home.

As soon as we'd paused to take a breath Gibbs asked what we had found out. I brought my hands to my eyes and rubbed them to rid them of the stinging before I jumped right into the explanations. I glanced over at Abby wondering why she wasn't saying anything and saw that she was fast asleep. I stared at her enviously. I so wished I was her right then. Gibbs frowned at the look on my face and followed my eyes. He blinked at Abby before turning back to me disbelief in his eyes.

"Don't tell me that the both of you've been here all night?" He questioned in annoyance. I had just opened my mouth but Gibbs held up his hand. I closed my mouth and half frowned, half glared at him. I absolutely hated it when he did that. "Seriously," Gibbs stated, "don't tell me you've been here all night." I blinked at him.

"Leroy?" I waited until I knew he was listening before I continued, "Shut up." I stated. Gibbs' eyebrows shot up. I walked passed him and plopped down onto the chair by Abby, laying my head on my arms on the tabletop. I had told Gibbs all the information he needed to know so it was now safe for Abby and I to get some much needed sleep.

I closed my eyes and snuggled my head into my arms. I heard Gibbs flip open his phone and tell Ziva to get the team ready to leave in ten minutes. Even though I knew it was strange that Gibbs wasn't already in his car streaming down the road, I didn't care. Sleep was more important to me at that moment.

As I started to doze I dreamt I was having a well-deserved massage. My mind snapped to attention as I realised someone was massaging my shoulders and back. I tensed.

"Relax." I heard whispered in my ear. I smiled lopsidedly and did just that. I'd recognise Gibbs' voice anywhere. The pressure of his fingers alternated between feather light touches to firm strokes. Gibbs stepped foreword slightly and lent over pressing himself against my back. His lips lowered to my neck. I felt his warm breath on my skin before his lips gently brushed against my neck leaving my skin tingling. My breath rushed out of my lungs and my heart rate increased. The next thing I knew, he was gone. I lifted my head from my arms just as the lab doors closed, only to see Gibbs turn the corner. I blinked after him and sighed. Whatever it was that was between us before seemed to be changing. Whether it's for better of worse I had no idea. I sighed again and laid my head back onto my arms, maybe a nap would help. I closed my eyes and was soon fast asleep.

* * *

After waking up I wondered down to Starbucks and got a black coffee for myself and a Caf-Pow for Abby. Even if we had had some sleep it wasn't going to be enough to keep us going until we got home. Gibbs was nowhere to be seen for the rest of the day but I was okay with that… slightly pissed off… but still okay with it. He was probably just avoiding me after what he did, which was stupid really. Having known each other for years you'd think he'd realise that I wouldn't care.

I walked into the lobby and as I was making my way to the stairwell I heard someone call my name. I paused with my hand on the doorknob and turned my head only to see Gibbs holding the elevator door open. Ah. He wanted to talk. I left go of the handle and walked over and into the empty elevator with Gibbs. The doors closed and we were soon on our way up to the bullpen.

I knew Gibbs too well and counted down the seconds until he'd hit the emergency stop button. Right on cue his hand shot out and the elevator came to an abrupt halt between two floors. He used to do the exact same thing with the elevator at the training facilities and it was just something you'd expect after knowing him for years.

Gibbs turned to me and stared at me waiting for me to break the silence. It wasn't going to happen. He had wanted me to come in here; he could start the conversation I knew he wanted to speak to me about. I stared back at him serenely as the minutes ticked by. He sighed knowing I wasn't going to say anything.

"You're not going to make this easy for me are you?" Gibbs asked rhetorically. I smirked and shock my head. He sighed again and started talking again while looking me in the eyes. "About what happened in the lab…" I held my hand up and gave him a look.

"Don't try to tell me that that's what you called me in here for?" I asked deadpanned. He blinked at me. "You know I'm not one to make a big deal about things like that." I smiled. An idea popped into my head and I couldn't help but go through with it.

I looked down at the floor and smiled slightly then looked up at Gibbs from under my lashes sexily. Gibbs' eyebrows shot up at my look but he continued to stare into my eyes as I walked up to within a hairs breadth of him. I placed my hands on his chest and slid them up to his shoulders, one going up around the back of his neck, the other stayed on his shoulder. I moved forward until I was pressed flush against him. He stared ahead of him as his hands made their way to my hips. I lent up and started sucking and licking at his neck as Gibbs' fingers started digging into my hips. I could feel him getting aroused and lifted my lips to his ear.

"Now who said I didn't like it?" I whispered seductively.

We stood there a while until I reached over and hit the emergency stop button to start the elevator going again. Unfortunately Gibbs had other plans and hit it off again as I stepped back. Gibbs stared at me but I just smiled. I loved playing with peoples heads and Gibbs knew that all too well as I had done things like this to him before, though I had been drunk back then. It was even better sober!

Still staring at me he hit the emergency button and the elevator started moving again. As soon as the doors opened I strolled out and down to the lab using the stairs causing Ziva, McGee and Tony to look at me strange. I took the stairs as fast as possible enjoying the feel of the air-conditioning hitting my face. I skipped into the lab and dropped into the seat by Abby.

"Hand over the Caf-Pow and nobody gets hurt." Abby jokingly threatened holding a black permanent marker millimetres away from my nose. I made an exaggerated gulping noise and made my arm shake as I passed it to her slowly.

"Ok, Ok, just _please_," I dragged out 'please' while making puppy dog eyes, "just don't hurt me!" I dramatically pleaded. I quickly yanked the marker from Abby's hand and drew a line down her nose. I smirked at her lopsidedly as she spluttered indignantly.

It was a long time before I was able to stop laughing and calm down enough to talk and even then it didn't make sense. Abby had jumped up and ran to the bathroom to scrub at her nose. She came out just as I settled down and glared at me but I just shrugged innocently before sitting down and getting to work. Abby had a lot of unfinished work so I got started on them and let Abby chill for a while.

I threw my lab coat on and set up all the needed equipment and got to work. As I concentrated on the job at hand Abby climbed to her feet and turned on her music letting it blast through the lab and started on another unfinished case. We go over everything; finger printing, fibre traces etc when I notice something that seems strange.

'Abbs? Take a look at this…' I sign to her in ASL after I caught her attention. Her eyebrows knitted together in a frown and she walked over to my side. I outline a piece of a shirt I'm studying where it looks to be a brighter colour than the rest of the shirt. The blob is just over fist size with curved edges. As though something's been squirted at it. I pick it up and put it into a glass box that will suck all the moisture out of the shirt which, will then run down the sloped side and into a little beaker ready for us to prepare for analysis. We left the machine do its thing and I turned off the music. I'd need my hearing for fieldwork.

The rest of our morning is spent doing the same thing. We fish out things from the box, check for evidence, yawn, take a sip of our caffeinated drinks and do it all over again. And about four hours later Gibbs strolled in and dropped a box in front of Abby. Abby and I look at each other and sigh. It looked like this would be a regular occurrence and boy were we right.

* * *

Weeks fly by in a blur and cases get solved.

I was just finishing off my last day in the lab after a month and could not wait to jump straight back into the field once the doc gave me the all clear.

It was the middle of the day and we were all working on a case, the only thing we were waiting for now was for a confession from the suspect.

The door to the lab slid open and Gibbs stormed in.

"___________!" Gibbs called and I was on my feet. "You're coming with me." He ordered and led the way down the corridor and up to interrogation. Halfway there it clicked. The guy was difficult to crack and I was even better than Gibbs at forcing a confession out of someone. Gibbs opened the door for me and let me walk in and sit down before he slammed the door.

I stared at the man in front of me until he turned his head away. I mentally smirked. He was hiding something. He wouldn't hold eye contact because he was afraid I would find out he was lying. What he didn't realise was that what he was doing now told me he was lying. He had shot his wife, a navy seal, and had tried to pin it on another marine. I had read the file to keep myself occupied and to see if I could help Gibbs any with the case.

"So…" I trailed off to get his attention. He looked up and I leant back in my chair comfortably. "Why'd you kill her?" I asked curiously. He face scrunched up and he glared at me.

"I didn't shoot my wife!" I raised my eyebrows in amusement at his sudden outburst but quickly turned serious.

"I didn't say anything about her being shot and I know for a fact that none of the other Agents told you she was shot." I stated as I stared at him with a steady gaze. "It's against the rules to tell a suspect anything about a case they are giving a statement on." He tried to keep calm but he swallowed visibly. "So do you want to tell me why you did it?" I asked gently, trying a different tactic. I looked down at the table acting sad. "Do you know that she was pregnant?" I raised sad eyes up to look into his, "It was yours…" I whispered softly. I got up from my chair and walked over to the mirrored window and lent against the wall, my head pressed gently against the glass. I made a show of placing my hand on my abdomen and sighed in a weary way. I stood like that for a while to let the information sink in before I pushed myself from the glass to lean my back against the wall. I stared at the man sitting at the desk in front of me. "We did a test on your unborn baby," his eyes glinted angrily, "there was no doubt about it. The baby was yours." He jumped to his feet and the chair slid back to hit the wall but I didn't flinch.

"Why are you telling me all this!?" He shouted and hit his fists against the table. I sighed again. My attitude changed instantly and I strode forward to stand nose-to-nose with him and glared.

"Because this is something you'll have to live with for the rest of your pathetic life." I stared him in the eyes. "The knowledge that you killed your wife and unborn child." I hissed viciously. My words had the desired effect. My words hit him like a punch in the gut and he sunk to the chair not far behind him, a tortured look in his eyes.

He turned his eyes up to meet mine after minutes of silence while shaking his head in disbelief.

"I didn't know… I… you've got to believe me… She never told me she was pregnant…" I stared at him.

"Did you even give her the chance to?" I asked quietly knowing I was close to a confession. He covered his face with a hand and described what happened. I listened in disgust. It was thoroughly revolting what he had done to his wife and as soon as he had finished I rose to my feet and left the room, slamming the door behind me. Gibbs came out from the room behind the mirror and walked beside me matching my strides. I was furious and needed somewhere to blow off some steam. Gibbs kept glancing at me every now and again to check I was okay… well as okay as I could be.

I opened the doors to the gym and bee-lined for the punch-bag. Gibbs watched silently as I continuously hit the punch-bag and stood there to wait for when he knew I would need him to make me stop. My fists connected with the bag with cracks and other NCIS employees edged away from me uncomfortably. Gibbs sighed and called to me.

"__________" He called gently. He got no reply and resorted to something he knew would get my attention. "Marine! Halt!" He commanded firmly. I stopped mid punch and stood at attention breathing heavily from anger. Gibbs walked up to within an inch of me but I kept my eyes forward and face emotionless. "You will calm down or I will be forced to assign you to desk work for the next month!" He said with raised voice, not quite shouting but louder than normal conversational level. "Is that understood Marine?" He demanded.

"Sir, yes sir!" I replied, as was custom. He nodded and scanned over me with his eyes.

"Dismissed." He stated, not unkindly. I stomped my foot and saluted marched for three paces and walked towards the stairs to get down to Abby's lab. Gibbs walked with me and as soon as the door closed behind us he wrapped his arm around my shoulder to hug me as we walked down the stairs. I sighed and frowned sadly watching my feet. We paused by the door at the bottom of the stairs and Gibbs hugged me as I returned it tightly burying my face in his neck – Gibbs and I are not affectionate people but we have been there for each other through a lot and felt comfortable being 'weak' in front of each other.

After one last sigh, Gibbs and I separated and walked into the lab. He explained to Abby that he was going to the hospital with me, to check how my wounds were healing, and if I had the 'all-clear' from the doctor I would be doing field work from then on. Abby looked unhappy but I reassured her that I would still come down to see her regularly. She smiled and waved to us as we walked out of the Lab and to the garage.

* * *

The drive to the hospital was silent and uneventful which gave me time to calm down. Well… until I got into the waiting room and tensed up.

"I fucking hate these places." I grumbled sourly. Gibbs glanced at me and smirked in amusement while shaking his head. We walked up to the desk and spoke to the receptionist. She had red hair and hazel eyes. Straight away my 'Gibbs Charm' sensor went off, knowing how much he had a thing for red heads. What surprised me the most was the fact that he didn't even attempt to come on to her. Though it was just too priceless to leave drop, I decided to make fun of him later.

I walked to the Doctor's office and knocked on the door before walking in and sitting down. The Doctor was young and handsome and rather shocked when he saw my six-pack. He blinked at it for a few seconds before examining the healing wounds. He seemed happy with the progress I was making and gave me a clean bill of health and permission to do field work. I smiled happily at Gibbs, my eyes twinkling and thanked the Doctor before I got up and Gibbs and I left the hospital in happy moods.

* * *


	5. Chapter 4

**Authour Note: **Hay everyone! Here's another chapter! Hope you like it! (For all my old readers it's the next chapter where the major changes take place and for all my new readers, ignore what's written in the brackets. XD)

Anyway, enjoy!

~Leanne~

**

* * *

**

**Chapter Four**

We went back to the office after I got the all clear from the doctor and filled out the necessary paperwork for me to do fieldwork. It only took ten minutes and as soon as we finished and filed it we made our way back to Gibbs'.

Gibbs opened the door and went into the kitchen to make us coffee as I stowed my things under the sofa and popped a video in the VCR. We hadn't sat down together to watch a video in a very long time… not since before Leroy met Shannon… I loved Shannon, of course I did, but it did hurt when my relationship with Leroy started to fall apart. I didn't blame Shannon for it… I blamed Leroy… for forgetting me.

I stared at the blank TV screen and pulled my knees up to my chest, wrapping my arms around them, I felt a stinging sensation behind my eyes. I rubbed my eyes vigorously, not wanting to cry and make a scene. Gibbs had helped me through a lot but when he got married I had to keep myself going because he wasn't around anymore. So really that was good for me in a way. I became self-reliant again.

"__________?" Gibbs' voice flowed to my ear and my head snapped up to stare at him in slight panic. I pushed my feet down to the floor quickly. I didn't want him to think I was weak. "Are you okay?" He asked gently and sat besides me on the sofa. I smiled a wide fake smile, hoping he couldn't see through it but knowing he would.

"Of course!" I said in a duh voice, "I've just been told I can do fieldwork again!" Somehow I couldn't make myself feel as happy as I looked and sounded. Gibbs looked at me sadly but said nothing. Knowing I didn't want to talk about it, Gibbs got comfortable, picked up the popcorn and I pressed play.

Throughout the film I would catch Gibbs glancing at me worriedly wondering why I wasn't leaning on him but keeping my distance when every other time before, I'd lean against him.

As the credits rolled in, Gibbs hit the off button on the remote and the TV screen went black. He turned to me with serious and demanding eyes and I knew that I was not going to get out of this one. I looked at the ground and pulled my legs up. Wrapping my arms around them I lent my chin on them.

"You'll think it's stupid…" He stared at me and waited for me to continue. "When you left I kind of felt alone again…" I frowned at my own self-pity and got up off the sofa to get a drink. Gibbs jumped up and rushed after me. I grabbed a tumbler and pored some whiskey in. I picked up my tumbler and lent against the counter facing Gibbs. I took a gulp and looked him in the eyes. "I got over it." I stated and took another sip of the whiskey. Gibbs watched me carefully, worriedly. "It helped me really," Gibbs frowned his forehead in disbelief, "I stopped being dependant on you. It forced me to become self-reliant again." I smiled at him and placed my tumbler down on the counter. I walked over to Gibbs and wrapped my arms around his back and hugged him. His arms wound themselves around my waist and held me tight against him as he buried his face into my hair.

"I'm so sorry." Gibbs whispered in an anguished voice. I didn't realise that what I said would have such an impact on him. I removed my head from his shoulder and stared into his eyes for a while before closing them to press my lips against his in a loving manner, which I tried to make out as affection and not love. I knew that even attempting something of that nature with Gibbs might ruin our friendship. And that was one thing I did not want ruined. It amazed me how comfortable I was around Gibbs… after being raped. But Gibbs had been my rock and helped me as much as he could. And I would always be grateful for that.

Gibbs returned the kiss with the same deep intensity as I did, and needing air we slowly moved apart before I rested my head on his shoulder again. We stood there, wrapped in each other's arms content.

After a while we slowly left each other go and I wandered around the kitchen to make us some food. Being domestic now and again was my release from the horrors of war. Now I didn't act like a housewife or anything I'd just tidy up and cook a nice healthy meal out of fresh food. I used to do it all the time at camp and everyone loved my cooking. Gibbs included. He sat down at the island and watched me buzz around the kitchen cooking up a storm but I didn't mind, this was the way we used to spend some quiet time together. Neither of us spoke much so the time we spent in the kitchen was quiet time, a part of the day or week where we could totally unwind.

* * *

The food was cooked and served within the hour and we sat down together to eat. I glanced at Gibbs and placed my fork down.

"Leroy?" I called. He paused in eating and looked at me. "I didn't mean to upset you earlier…" I mumbled, "I… just wanted you to understand… I'll be distant at times… I probably close up…" I started to whisper, "like before…" I stopped for a few seconds and looked up to meet Gibbs' sad eyes. "I don't want to hurt you and the stupid thing is I know it will but… you know I hate being dependant on people and it took me up until your wedding for me to realise that that's what I had done with you." I looked down, my eyes growing moist. "I realised the night before your wedding that everything was going to change." I stared at the wood of the surface and continue in such a gentle whisper Gibbs had to strain his ears to hear. "I cried that night…" Gibbs' eyes shone with his own tears at my words. "I… didn't want to lose you… but I wanted you to be happy. So the following morning I put on a smile and…" I looked up into Gibbs' pain filled eyes now, my own shining brightly with a secret joy and I whispered; "You looked so happy. You were smiling and laughing and dancing all throughout the reception and… it made me happy…" I whispered softly smiling gently. "I did the right thing… I stopped being selfish and it made you happy…" I finished in a breathy whisper smiling in joy. It was only then that I noticed tears running down Gibbs face as he stared at me with a mixture of pain and gratitude. My eyes widened and I stared at him starting to wonder if telling him had been a bad idea.

"Thank you…" He whispered, much to my relief. He got up and walked around to the side of the island I was on. He took a hold of my hands and pulled me to my feet. "What did I ever do to deserve someone as wonderful as you?" He questioned and hugged me tightly, his face buried in the crook of my neck while he cried. I placed one hand on the back of his head and I let the fingers of the other hand run soothingly up and down his back.

As the tears slowed down and Gibbs' breathing evened I was shocked out of my mind at what happened next. Feather light, Gibbs kissed my neck and when I didn't pull away or tense up, he pressed his lips to my neck in a firmer kiss that had me closing my eyes in pleasure. I let my head fall back in subconscious invitation. He kissed a hot and insistent line across my neck to the dip between my collarbones. His tongue flicked out to lick lavishly at my skin and I felt my legs crumple beneath me. Gibbs scooped me up and sat me on one of the high breakfast bar stools and pressed himself flush against me. His member pressed against me as he pressed himself between my legs. His lips left my neck and pressed insistently against mine and our hands started to roam with urgency. Our tongues swirled around and against each other's as we rushed to undress each other. Gibbs' tops and mine lay on the floor and our hands roamed over the freshly bared skin. Gibbs reaches behind me, lips still locked with my own, and undoes my bra standing back to slip it sensually off before stepping foreword again where he dropped his head back to my neck. I place my hands round his shoulders loosely when he starts kissing a fiery trail to my nipple capturing it in his mouth he brings his other hand up and cups my other breast rolling the nipple between his fingers and changing the pressure he places on it. I moan loudly at the sensations grinding my hips in a circle against Gibbs' hardness, he bucks his hips foreword slightly to press against me harder and he groans and I moan at the same time. We climb to our feet and started making our way to Gibbs bedroom when his mobile rings. He was about to ignore it but I pointed out there might be a case. Gibbs pressed me against the wall and we kissed feverishly before he rushed of, picked up his phone and shouted a 'what?' down the phone. He nodded a couple of times then hung up. He slid the phone into his back pocket and strode over to me where I'm lent against the wall and lifts me up, wraps my legs around his waist and pressed me against the wall and we slow our kisses down gradually and after long drawn out minutes our lips touch gently and he slid me to the floor. We stood pressed against the wall for a little while longer before Gibbs took a hold of my hand and led me back into the kitchen where we got dressed.

As soon as I came back to my senses I rushed into the living room and checked my guns, briefcase and field bag before rushing into the bathroom to check I looked presentable. I rushed out of the house and placed my stuff behind the drivers seat just as Gibbs walked out the front door with both our coats.

* * *


	6. Chapter 5

**Author Note: **Hay Everyone! Here's another update for you! This is going to be a bit steamy one! Enjoy! I also want to say a **huge** thank you to all you lovely people who reviewed!!

Enjoy my loves!

~Leanne~

* * *

**Chapter Five.**

Another case, another murder. Oh joy. I sighed as I stared at the lifeless body on the ground at my feet. I never really understood murderer's minds. They just confused me. I only killed in the field when I was being shot at myself. And even then I didn't like doing it, but I hoped that at least maybe I was helping people by what I was doing.

This time it was a young man. His hair looked satin soft and I'm sure that when he was alive his eyes would have shone a beautiful sky blue colour. Ziva was sketching the scene as Tony and McGee questioned the officers who were the to first arrive, so that left me to photograph the body and look for evidence.

The pictures were taken of the body and the surrounding areas quickly enough and now it was just a matter of bagging everything. I decided to bag the surrounding evidence first, then move onto the evidence on top of the body. I made sure to do all of this without disturbing the body. You can never be too careful. I learnt my lesson a long time ago.

I frowned my eyebrows as I noticed something white poking out of the man's mouth. Gently, I opened his mouth and snapped a few photos, then carefully and slowly pulled the paper out with a pair of tweezers. I held my camera up and took photo's of it and bag it, trying not to panic or worry. Very slowly I got up and picked my way over to Leroy and handed him the evidence bag containing the note. On it was written one sentence. **'I'm going to hurt you the same way you hurt me Special Agent Gibbs.' **Gibbs's eyes narrowed and I placed my hand on his arm. He turned his attention to me.

"I think there is a bomb under the body," I whispered to him and he stared at me questioningly, "I noticed a wire poking out from under his side." He nodded his head and soon everyone was gathered as far away from the body as possible.

Before long S.W.A.T and the bomb squad arrived and somehow managed to defuse the bomb and loaded the body onto a trolley. My gut was telling me that something wasn't right. I shouted for them to stop. They did as I instructed and I told them to scan the body for any explosive devices.

The scanner started bleeping like crazy and the leader of their team shouted 'Take Cover'. Not knowing the power of the explosives, Gibbs and I turned on our heels and sprinted toward some boulders, dived behind them and huddled close together as other people followed our example. My jut has never been wrong before and today was no exception.

The explosion made the ground rumble and vibrate as bits of body parts flew everywhere only narrowly missing my head. As I got up, I sneered in disgust at all the blood and chunks of body parts covering the area. Now I had more work to do.

* * *

It took seven hours to sort out the mess and we were all able to leave to get some well-earned rest. Gibbs came over and took a hold of my arm and led me to his car after everyone else had got into McGee's car and driven away. He opened the car door for me and I climbed in without complaint. I knew he was worried about the note that I found. And the bomb sure as hell didn't help matters. Gibbs popped the car into gear and sped away.

* * *

The ride was silent and uneventful, which I knew was what Gibbs needed to help him think and calm down. He… was very protective of the people he cared about – I could see it in his eyes when any of them were in danger – and he seemed to take the note as a threat to us all. He treated all of his team like children though no one noticed it… Not even him.

I turned my head to stare out the window trying to think of what the message could mean. The way the message was written could mean many different things, it all depends on which way you look at it and combine it with the situation… And considering the situation we found the note in I was pretty sure that the person behind it was not going to be a push over. The amount of time and planning that had to have gone into setting up the body with the bombs and then making sure that it was Gibbs' team were the one's to investigate the body… It was amazing! _Whoever's behind this must really hate Leroy… But why? _I thought to myself.

Before I could analyse it further, Gibbs rounded the corner and parked the car in headquarters parking lot and was already getting out. I undid my seatbelt, opened my door while grabbing my things and followed Gibbs into the elevator. I knew where we were going; he didn't even need to tell me. He was pissed beyond belief and the best person to get answers from was the Director.

The elevator door dinged and we all but marched up the stairs and into the Director's office ignoring the sectary at the desk who shouted something about the Director being in a meeting. Trust me when I say you really don't want to mess with Gibbs when he's angry. You might as well just stick a sign on your forehead saying "SHOOT ME!" It'd be much easier and you'd get the same result.

The door slammed loudly against the wall and I had to jump side ways to keep from getting hit by the recoil. I'd have to check later to see if there was now a hole in the wall from the force Gibbs used to throw the door open. '_I hope the door doesn't fall off its hinges.'_ I thought distractedly and sat down in one of the chairs and listened to Gibbs explain the situation to the Director. She looked thoroughly peeved at him interrupting her, though she obviously knew there was no point lecturing him about his behaviour. I studied her as he started ranting about not loosing a member of his team again and wanting everything done to insure our safety.

She was slightly taller than me with pale skin, soft curves, blue eyes and red hair. Her body language told me that there had been something between them, and though she believed there wasn't, subconsciously, she still wanted him. I found that very interesting and promised myself that I'd weasel the story out of him one day.

It was quite amusing to watch Gibbs rant but after half an hour it got boring. So I thought that I'd just get comfortable, close my eyes and block it all out. I started to doze and was awoken no more than five minutes later by Gibbs shaking me awake gently and telling me we were going home.

Apparently, there was not much that could be done. The only thing Gibbs and the Director could think of doing was to pair up Gibbs' agents and have them live together, with another highly trained NCIS agent, and set up surveillance outside their homes. Gibbs agreed but still insisted that more precautions should be put in place, as he did not want to take any chances this time. I made another mental note to ask Gibbs what happened "last time" as soon as we got home.

* * *

Later that night Gibbs and I were curled up together on the sofa. We were supposed to be watching a movie but neither of us was paying attention. The agent who was staying with us had set up his stuff in the spare bedroom and was looking over the cameras. Movement sensors had been placed around the all houses that were being watched and more movement sensors were attached to the cameras. There was no way someone would be able to get anywhere near the house without the alarms going off. Though the only people who would hear them would be our Watchman, as I had affectionately nicknamed him, Gibbs and myself.

We sat there in comfortable silence while I leaned against Gibbs and the credits rolled in. I sat up and stretched sleepy and let loose a huge yawn.

"… … … … ?" I turned my sleepy eyes to look at Gibbs. I was instantly wide awake when I felt his lips press gently against my own, before I closed my eyes and let myself lean against him and get lost in the kiss. The kiss was slow and gentle speaking of worry and fear, with undertones of a deeper emotion hidden underneath.

When we finally broke apart we were both breathing heavily. My eyes fluttered open and a small smile lit up my face. I was about to say something but Gibbs placed a finger to my lips and caressed my face as we stared into each other's eyes.

"I was so worried when we found that note… I don't want to lose you…" He whispered softly, pain and sadness covering his voice and eyes. Turning my head slightly I laid a gentle kiss on the palm of his hand. This was as sentimental as we ever got with each other – it wasn't often that we spoke about our feelings and we seemed to be doing more of that in the past weeks than we had in years.

"You can't get rid of me that easily…" I whispered back to him smiling light heartedly to try and lighten the mood. I knew it hadn't helped when Gibbs pulled me tight to his chest, hugging me. I wrapped my arms around his back and hugged him just as tightly in return, hoping to give him some sort of reassurance that I was, in fact, not leaving him anytime soon.

We sat like that for a long time, not willing to let go of each other, afraid of what would happen if we did. I pulled my head from his shoulder and stared into his eyes. I pressed my lips gently against his but soon the kiss became more passionate, filled with hunger, longing and lust. He pulled me toward him to straddle his hips and placed his hands on my hips as I laced my fingers through his hair. I shifted my hips a bit to get more comfortable and felt Gibbs go tense as he groaned. I suddenly became aware of two things. Gibbs was becoming very much aroused… and I liked it! I smirked against his lips and rolled my hips in a circle and Gibbs's breathing quickened. He then did something totally unexpected. He bucked his hips sending me tensing and gasping. I should have realised that he would retaliate. Gibbs moved from my lips to my neck and I managed to gasp out a sentence as Gibbs's hand massaged my breast.

"You got another thing coming if you think I'm going to do this here." I could feel Gibbs smirk against my neck as he wrapped my legs around his waist and carried me to his bedroom as we kissed feverishly and bumped into the walls, pausing to make out for a few minutes whenever we did so.

By the time we got to the bedroom we were more than ready for each other. We broke the kiss to remove our clothes, which took mere seconds, and we were on each other as soon as that was done, kissing and touching as Gibbs forced me to walk backwards by pressing his body against mine. My knees collided with the edge of the bed and we both landed on the mattress, as I laughed lightly. Gibbs smiled and gently pulled me onto the bed properly. He trailed his kisses down my neck as I ran my hands up and down his back. His hand pressed between my legs suddenly and I gasped in pleasure as he started teasing me, his lips and hands driving me insane.

It wasn't long before he slowly pushed himself, hard and ready into me, as our mutual need pushed us together. He groaned in my ear and I arched my back, wrapping my legs around his waist, letting my head fall back against the pillow. He pulled out slowly, his head buried in my neck and pushed back in. The only sounds in the room were our heavy breathing and sounds of quite pleasure. The tempo increased steadily as our hunger for each other grew. I could feel myself slipping further towards release and gratefully let go as I felt my orgasm rip through me bringing Gibbs along right behind me, as my inner walls contracted around him. We pressed our lips together in a searing kiss to smother our moans of passion. Our bodies stilled, leaving us panting but happy and sated.

Gibbs rolled us over so that I was lying on his chest with him still buried deep inside my body. Using my toes, I grabbed the sheet and pulled it up to where I could grab it in my hand and covered us both over. I placed a soft kiss on his chest and laid my head down listening to his heartbeat. His breathing soon evened out into the rhythm of sleep and I let myself say what I had wanted to say for years, but never felt I could. Now I knew there was nothing stopping me, not even the fear of rejection as Gibbs was already asleep as far as I could tell.

"I love you…" I whispered quietly, and closed my eyes letting my tired body fall into a blissful sleep.

* * *


	7. Chapter 6

**Author Note:** Hay everyone! Here is the next chapter! Hope you enjoy! I'm not promising the next one by this time next week. I should finish it by then but I'm not sure.

Enjoy my lovelies!

~Leanne~

**

* * *

**

**Chapter Six.**

Days went by with no further incidents and soon the days were turning to weeks. During this time everyone began to relax and even though our paired living arrangements staid the same, including the armed agents, you could tell that the lack of further developments was a huge relief to everyone. There were still those moments when it niggled at the back of your mind, though those were pushed away, when really they should have been listened to. Constant vigilance is one teaching that every marine should never forget.

Anyway, as always the days go on and it was two months later that found Gibbs and I the only ones left in the Bull Pen one evening. It was late and Gibbs needed to finish some paperwork so I decided to go get us some coffee. The man who had been with us constantly for the past two months had had to leave no more than ten minutes ago after receiving a phone call that his mother had been rushed into hospital back in his hometown earlier that day. With Gibbs's permission he left. It was too late at night to have anyone else step in for him so we decided that we could wait until tomorrow morning before we went to the Director.

I got up from my desk and grabbed my gun, badge and bracelet. The bracelet had tracking devices installed into it, which Gibbs had been informed about and Abby had the GPS's unique signal under constant monitor in the background of everything else she did in the lab.

I took the stairs to the lobby and walked out into the cool evening air. I took a deep breath and strolled off to the coffee house on the next block. The night sky was clear and the wind blew softly, brushing past me like the hands of a lover… I let my head fall back and closed my eyes, face tilted upwards. I took another deep breath before opening my eyes lazily and staring at the velvety blackness above me, just thinking. Leroy and I were closer in some ways now, obviously, but… not that much had changed which in some ways I was thankful for but in other ways it made me sad. I knew he cared about me… I was just not sure in which way and how much… I sighed as my thoughts led me to an even less appealing subject.

We had all been busy with the latest case for the past two months. A serial killer was murdering the women in a relationship with Marines. The only connection any of the murder victims had to each other was that they were all Marines and couples and that was it! It was very frustrating and worrying but I pushed those thoughts out of my head as I pulled the coffee shop door open and walked in, inhaling the gorgeous smell of coffee. I recognised the man behind the counter as the same man from the last time I was here. We talked for a while but I soon had to leave, turning in the doorway and waving goodbye before I made my way back down the street to HQ. I never noticed the predatory look directed at me as the door closed behind me. Nor did I notice it open silently again and a man slip out. The last thing I remembered was gazing up at the stars and thinking that, finally, my life was turning out the way I wanted to.

Obviously, the peace and happiness I was feeling was not to last as a splitting pain exploded in my head and everything went black. A man stood over my unconscious body, a bat in one hand, silhouetted by the streetlights, his face hidden in shadows. He smirked evilly as he bent down and pulled out my gun and badge, tucking my gun into the back of his trousers and putting my badge into his pocket.

He crouched down on his hunches and studied my entire body for a while, before lifting me up and walking down the darkened ally, where a van had been parked a long time ago in preparation for this stage of his plan.

He opened the back door of the van, climbed in and laid me on the floor as he got to work in tying me up and gagging me, should I wake up and decide to make a noise. He stared down at me again once he had finished and sighed. _'It's a shame she's so pretty… Though it will make it all the more enjoyable…'_ He thought and smirked evilly, before climbing back out and closing the van door. He climbed into the drivers seat and started up the engine and made his way to where he would be keeping me. _'Now that I have the girl, the next bit of my plan will be easy!'_ He thought triumphantly as he turned onto the highway.

* * *

As my senses slowly came back to me, it was only the years of my military training that kept me from reacting to, not only the pain in my head, but also to the fact that I had just been kidnapped. I thought over the way my kidnapper had, possibly, planned this. He must have waited until our guard was down, which was a stupid thing to do on our part, I thought with irritation, and then he had made his move. At the moment all I could do was sit and think, for all I knew the place could be bugged with surveillance and all I needed was for my kidnapper to find out I was awake.

It would seem that luck was not on my side today, as the door was slammed open sending shocks of pain rocketing around the inside of my skull. Heavy footfalls walked over to where I was bound to a chair and a fist made sharp contact with my face.

"Wake up you worthless piece of shit!" A man's voice shouted as his fist made contact with my face for a second time. I opened my eyes and blinked up at the man in front of me as my eyes adjusted to the light. He was tall, standing at a good six foot with dark brown hair and sinister brown eyes. I scanned him from head to foot quickly and forced myself to think around my pounding head, on whether I had seen him anywhere before. I came up with nothing and forced myself not to panic. In a situation like this not knowing your enemy was extremely dangerous, especially considering the way he had treated me thus far. " I need you awake for this." With his lips curled up in a snarl he punched me three more times, two more in the face and one to the stomach. I doubled over as far as the chair and it's bindings allowed, as I struggled for breath. From my peripheral vision I saw the man step away and start walking towards one of the walls. He walked back to my chair, stood behind it and started talking.

"Hello agent Gibbs. I'm sure by now you've realised what has happened but I bet you never thought I would be the one responsible, did you?" He laughed cruelly for a moment before grabbing my hair and jerking my upper body upright. I started gasping for breath all over again as my stomach muscles protested and tried to contract again. He chuckled from behind me and lent his head down to lick my neck but I was too busy fighting all the pain I was in to notice. He stood up and pulled my chair around so that my side faced the camera and continued talking. "This is just a taster, for you, of what will happen to her in the next twenty-four hours." Having regained my breath a bit I looked up just in time to see his fist flying to back hand me across the face. My head snapped to face the camera but the force of the punch left my dizzy and unable to focus my vision. My kidnapper turned my chair back around to it's original position so fast that I had to force myself not to be sick from the dizziness. "Now, I'm not going to say any of that; 'If you want to see her alive again…' kind of nonsense because I have no intention of letting that happen. I'll record everything for you and send it on because I know right now you've probably got all your computer whizzes working on trying to find me through the video link but that's not going to happen. I'm sure you'll enjoy what I'll send you later, just as much as I will…" He trailed off for a moment and turned to look my body up and down hungrily, before turning back to the camera with a smirk. "Maybe not as much as me." He walked up to the camera while laughing cruelly and turned it off.

He stalked back over to me and grabbed my chin forcing me to look up at him.

"You better prepare yourself girl because you're not going to like this at all." He all but growled at me. I knew what he was going to do by the look in his eyes and for the first time in a long time I was scared. He smirked as he saw realisation, followed by fear and finally hopelessness appear in my eyes.

I knew that even with the tracking device in my bracelet, Gibb's would not get here in time to stop that. The fact _that_ it was going to happen wasn't the part that hurt most… The part that hurt most was the knowledge that the relationship Leroy and I had been slowly building, after all the years of pain and longing, might never happen because of what was going to happen next.

* * *

Gibbs' POV.

I nodded, not really paying attention, as **________** told me she was going to get us some coffee. I had loads of paperwork to finish and as usual I'd left it until last minute to do, unlike **________ **who filled in all her paperwork after every case. I quickly became reabsorbed in my work and after a while I paused and looked up frowning. It was too quite… I glanced at the clock and my frown deepened. _'Where is she until now?'_ I wondered silently.

I picked up the phone by the side of me and dialled her cell number. I sighed, hung up the phone and opened one of my desk draws. There sitting on top of some of my files was **________**'s cell. I let out another sigh and closed the draw. I settled down in my chair and decided that I'd do a bit more paperwork. I'd give her another ten minutes and if she wasn't here by then I'd call Abby in and she could track her using her bracelet. It took only five minutes for me to start feeling edgy. _'She should be here by now.' _I picked up the phone for a second time and dialled Abby's cell number and told her to get in here A.S.A.P.

_________ was missing.

* * *

The entire team arrived in minutes. It turned out that Abby had called up everyone on her cell as she made her way in. Everyone got straight to work in tracking down leads as Abby fired up her computer and searched for the signal coming from ________'s bracelet. It took mere seconds for Abby to find the signal but as she was zoning in on it a video window popped up on screen. Everyone stopped what they were doing and stared at the screen in horror. There, right in front of their eyes was ________, tied to a chair with a man standing behind her. My eyes narrowed at the man in the frame and listened closely as he started talking. No, I couldn't believe it was him. I thought I'd killed him years ago.

* * *


	8. Chapter 7

**Author Note: **Sorry this took so long. A reviewer wondered if the bad guy was Ari. I can safely say he's not (after months of trying to find a way to make him the bad guy - basically looking for a way around the 'shot in the head by his Mossad sister' death part... obviously didn't work). My baddy is just a random evil guy from Gibbs's past.

Enjoy!

XXX

**

* * *

**

**Chapter Seven**

* * *

Hours later when he'd finally decided he was finished with me, he stood to his feet, zipped up his pants and left the room. My eyes remained glued on the little piece of plastic on the floor, blank and cold. He'd found the tracking device and crushed it with the heel of his shoe. His rage had terrified me as I lay tied to the little bed in the room, unable to fight back though not from lack of trying. My wrists and ankles were red, raw and oozing blood from fighting against my binds, the rest of my body covered in bruises.

I wondered where Leroy was right now and how he was coping. He was probably worrying himself sick or he would be when he saw the film my captor was about to send him.

Tired and drained both physically and mentally, I closed my eyes and prayed for sleep to come. Even the pounding from the wound on my head where he'd hit me couldn't keep my eyes open and I let them slip close, welcoming the gentle darkness on the other side of my closed eyelids.

* * *

I woke several times during the course of the day and wondered why Leroy hadn't found me yet and though I struggled to stay awake, something kept pulling me under constantly and I wondered if that bang to the head had done more damage than I'd thought.

* * *

The next time I awoke was to sounds of shouting and gunfire and the adrenaline that spiked through my vines helped me grasp onto the consciousness that had previously eluded me.

Not knowing what was going on the other side of the door, I began to struggle against my bonds again and though they cut further into my skin I kept going until I'd gotten them off. Whether or not the shots were coming from a rescue party or not, I knew this would be my one chance to escape.

That thought filled me with the determination I'd come to call 'marine madness' – it was such a single minded determination and drive for survival that it was terrifying and freeing all in one go and was one of the only things that had kept me alive all these years. I rolled off the bed and landed on the floor on my hands and knees, quickly pulling on my trousers, top and shoes, anything else was unnecessary and would just take away vital time I needed.

I lurched unsteadily to my feet and stumbled to the camera, pressing the record button and praying that it went straight to Abby back in the lab at NCIS headquarters.

"Abby, I need you to listen to me okay?" I stated staring at the camera. My eyes were blurry and unfocused and I knew I had a pretty bad concussion if the dizziness combined with everything was a good indication. "I need you to focus and stop running around and ranting about needing to get someone ok? Something's going on out the room I'm in, shots have been fired. I don't know by who but as soon as the door's open I'm going to make a run for it. I'll be alright. I'm a big girl and I've gotten out of worse situations than this. Take care of yourself. All of you." I gave as good of a smile as I could and signed with my index finger, pinkie finger and thumb similar to the rock sign. (1)

I turned the camera off and took a deep breath, quickly searching around the room for anything I could use as a weapon. The only things in the room was the bed (with the ropes that hand bound me still attached) and the camera and tripod. A light bulb went off in my head and I quickly pulled the camera from the top and pulled the legs off the tripod and untied the ropes from the bed shoving them into my pockets. I tucked two of the poles into my belt loop and swung two of them around a bit. They'd do.

I quickly moved to the wall by the door, hidden enough that I wouldn't be seen when someone came in. Sure enough, seconds later the door opened and I struck out at my captor with one of the tripod legs, swinging it like a baseball bat hard enough that I wouldn't have been surprised if his head came off. I didn't give myself any time to ponder and instead grabbed up his gun and after checking it was safe, darted out into the main room, closing the cell down silently behind me.

There were bodies strewn over the floor and after doing a quick check I came to the relieved conclusion they weren't any of ours. A sound from the back room made me pause and listen as I grabbed a couple of guns from the bodies on the floor. As quietly as possible, I flew through the room, pausing at the doorway to glance into the hallway to see if the coast was clear.

Fate, who had been on my side so far, choose this time to dessert me completely as, coming out of the room at the other end of the hallway, was a man holding a very large semi automatic. I hated it when that happened. Instead of jumping out of the room screaming like a banshee like their prone to doing on TV, I snuck back to hide behind the side of a bookcase suddenly thankful I'd thought to close the cell door on the way out.

I waited patiently as I heard his footsteps enter the room and start towards my position. He was obviously doing his rounds, checking that everything was okay. I had know idea how big the place was so I had no idea how long it would normally take him to finish his rounds, which meant I had no idea how long I had to get out of there.

Pushing such thoughts from my mind for the time being as I heard his footsteps getting closer, I carefully pulled off my shirt and silently wrapped it around the end of the metal rod to muffle any sound. Pulling my makeshift weapon back into place, I let it swing out in perfect timing to smash him in the face, catching his body before it hit the floor. I grabbed the rifle strap from around his neck and pulled it over my own before removing the spare magazines and his two sheathed knives, strapping them quickly to my ankles and covering them with my trousers after quickly yanking my shirt back on.

The sound of footsteps had me pausing briefly before quickly continuing to lay the man down on the floor by the sofa where he would be hidden from view. Crouched above him, knowing neither of us was visible, I waited until I heard the footsteps retreat up the stairs not far from the opening of the living room before climbing to my feet and tiptoeing to the door. Sinking down halfway to the floor and removing one of the guns, I glanced down the hallway and up at the stairs.

I all but held my breath as I snuck to the door and after peaking out the window, slipped out. Back pressed to the wood of the house, I glanced around me, scanning the area. Not far from me was a barn, its door open revealing cars and bikes. My escape route.

Dropping silently to the floor, the rifle on my back, I crawled under the window trying to ignore the pain it caused my injuries. Climbing to my feet again hurt just as much but I forced myself up without a sound and, with a deep breath and silent prayer, sprinted to the barn. Finding a hole in the door, I glanced through and was relieved when I found it empty except for cars, bikes and a lot of hay.

I rushed in and quickly got to work with making the all but one bike non-drivable by slashing tires and pulling out some of the insides and cutting fuel and brake lines. It took less time than I thought.

Finally finished, I wheeled the last remaining bike to the door and swung onto it before tearing out of there like a bat out of hell.

* * *

I drove for hours, long after the adrenaline rush wore off and exhaustion had set in. I was thankful that it was the middle of the night and that there was no one around because I was finding it difficult to see straight. Definitely not a good thing when riding a motor cycle at high speeds without wearing any protective gear.

I knew I had one hell of a head start on the men who had kidnapped me but I also knew that I had to stop to call Gibbs. Plus I was getting more than a few looks for the rifle on my back and the last thing I needed was for a cop to pull me over.

Up ahead a sign for a gas station flashed and I felt a rush of relief. I'd already passed more than a few but wanted to put as much distance between me and that house as I could.

I pulled in seconds later near the door and stumbled in, crashing into one of the shelves and using it to keep me from falling to the fall. The few people who had been in there screamed as soon as they saw the rifle on my back and I pushed myself off of the shelf. My legs felt like jelly noodles and my head didn't even feel like it was there.

I stumbled towards the counter as I spoke, aware that someone in black was coming towards me from my peripheral vision. "Call NCIS headquarters. Washington. Ask for Special Agent Leroy Gibbs." I stumbled again and this time went sprawling to my knees. "Tell him Special Agent _________ needs help. Backup. Hurry." That said I dropped to the floor, completely spent and barely conscious.

Naturally chaos ensued.

The man in black, who I now realized was a police man unclipped his gun from its holster, the faint pop of the button all warning I needed, and made his way cautiously over to me. Warning me not to move he radioed in to his HQ explaining the situation his whereabouts and what I had said, getting someone to phone NCIS to see if they knew anyone by either names and if we were connected. If I'd had the energy I would have thanked him but as it was I couldn't even move.

The policeman, who I seriously thought deserved a raise for using his brain, moved over to me and pressed the barrel of his gun to my head as he unclipped the rifle and passed it to the garage owner behind him.

He continued removing all the weapons I had all over my body and mummers from some of the customers told me of their shock at the number of weapons being removed from my person. Gasps filled the little store at the sight of my heavily bruised torso and it was then that the policeman started inspecting my body. I knew the moment he looked at my wrists as he gasped and started removing my shoes only to draw in a deep breath at the sight of them. They were probably a lot worse now after rubbing against the insides of my boots since I'd put them on.

His radio crackled and a voice came through, quickly explaining the situation. Backup would be there in a few minutes and a lot more including SWAT and a helicopter unit was being sent out to the location I had been held and I wondered again why Gibbs hadn't come to get me yet. My question was answered seconds later as the officer on the other end of the radio continued.

"Special Agent Gibbs has a message for her. It follows: We'll be there soon, just hold on. There was a problem with the tracking device, the signal died before we could get a specific location. I'm twenty minutes away. Just hold on. Damn it Marine, don't you dare give up on me!"

I could feel my face move into a brief smile as relief and amusement flowed through me. I could just imagine him shouting at me. I was just about to give into the sweet darkness that loomed over me like a huge tidal wave, but then I remembered what he'd said and forced my eyes to open.

The policeman was crouch by my side and was speaking to me but I couldn't hear anything over the dull roar that had started in my ears. I managed to make out the word Ambulance from glancing at his lips but when trying to focus too hard to understand more caused pain to slice through my skull I quickly stopping trying.

That was the longest twenty minutes of my life.

* * *

**Author Note: **Hope you liked! Not much of the story left now. About 4 or 5 chapters.

**(1) **This sign means 'I love you' in ASL according to a previous NCIS episode as well as Google! :¬D


End file.
